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How John McCain lost me

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John McCain's “Straight Talk Express” – a brilliant public relations stroke in 2000 – has now been shut down, Drew says.
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I have been a longtime admirer of John McCain. During the 2000 Republican presidential primaries I publicly defended McCain against the pro-Bush Republicans’ whisper campaign that he was too unstable to be president (aware though I was that he had a temper). Two years later I published a positive book about him, “Citizen McCain.”

I admired John McCain as a man of principle and honor. He had become emblematic of someone who spoke his mind, voted his conscience, and demonstrated courage in bucking his own party and fighting for what he believed in. He gained a well-deserved reputation as a maverick. He was seen as taking principled positions on such issues as tax equity (opposing the newly elected Bush’s tax cut), fighting political corruption, and, later, taking on the Bush administration on torture. He came off as a man of decency. He took political risks.

Having emerged, ironically, from his bitter 2000 primary fight against Bush as an immensely popular figure, he set out to be a new force in American politics. He decided to form and lead a centrist movement, believing that that was where the country was and needed leadership. He went against the grain of his party on the environment, patients’ bill of rights, and, of course, campaign finance reform.

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While McCain’s movement to the center was widely popular (if not on the right) – and he even flirted with becoming a Democrat – there’s now strong reason to question whether it was anything but a temporary, expedient tactic. (In his 2002 memoir, “Worth the Fighting For,” he wrote, revealingly, “I didn’t decide to run for president to start a national crusade for the political reforms I believed in or to run a campaign as if it were some grand act of patriotism. In truth, I wanted to be president because it had become my ambition to be president. . . . In truth, I’d had the ambition for a long time.”)

When he decided to run for president in 2008, he felt he couldn’t win without the support of the right, so he adapted.

In retrospect, other once-hailed McCain efforts – his cultivation of the press (“my base”) and even his fight for campaign finance reform (launched in the wake of his embarrassment over the Keating Five scandal) now seem to have been simply maneuvers. The “Straight Talk Express” – a brilliant p.r. stroke in 2000 – has now been shut down.

When the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, widely opposed by Republicans, began to seem a liability during the 2008 primaries, his reforming zeal gave way to political exigencies, and he ceased mentioning his one-time triumph. Though in 2003 he had introduced a bill to fix some other problems with the campaign finance system, in later years his name was no longer on the bill.

These Repugs and their marxist/socialist fears created from the Right Wing Scare radio. What a bunch of sheep to believe that giving people affordable health care and creating a more even tax code is actually going to turn us into Russia. If you're not making over $250,000 (unlike the right-wing commentators), you're going to be much better off. How about voting in your best interest this year?

McCain’s recent conduct of his campaign – his willingness to lie repeatedly (including in his acceptance speech) and to play Russian roulette with the vice-presidency, in order to fulfill his long-held ambition – has reinforced my earlier, and growing, sense that John McCain is not a principled man.

In fact, it’s not clear who he is.

Tsk! Tsk! Russian roulette with the vice-presidency? And... what women's group are you associated with? Man, some of you women are so hissy. You see a woman running and out come the fangs and claws. It happened with Clinton and it's happening now. Of course, your comments/article wouldn't have anything to do with the fact you wrote a book and want to make money off of the book. I hope you as much luck with your book as Nancy Pelosi is having with hers!!!

As far as it not being clear who McCain is... the statement is pretty funny. Obama has had more changes than most babies in their life time.

You support a man who has NUMEROUS associations with anti-Americans, makes "secret deals" with foreign entities, has declared support and admiration for Marxists and radicals, has demonstrated the ability and willingness to do or say ANYTHING to get what he wants, and ignored those of us in Illinois who needed his help?

On second thought, after writing this... it is CLEAR who Obama is... and these issues aren't something I can overlook. It is clear I can't vote for such a man.

John McCain pretends that he can divorce himself from the party and the president that got us into this mess. And it could be that some secret policies pursued by a passel of government agencies may have spawned or worsened this economic crisis:

Targeting of U.S. Citizens by Gov't Agencies: A Root Cause of Wall Street Financial Crisis?

Could government "targeting" of American citizens outside the bounds of the judicial system be one of the root causes of the Wall Street financial meltdown that threatens to devastate the global economy?

Victims of so-called "organized gang stalking" claim that federal and local government agencies involved in intelligence, law enforcement, and revenue collection have established a network of secret programs aimed at destroying the financial well-being of "targeted" individuals -- who are denied due process of law as their financial resources are systematically expropriated.

These programs allegedly involve the interception of mail; surveillance, interception and alteration of telecommunications, including telephone and internet communications; fabrication of bank, credit card, mortgage and billing statements; surreptitious manipulation of personal and business bank and mortgage accounts.

Victims theorize that these "programs of personal destruction" are a derivative of past controversial government programs such as Cointelpro and Total Information Awareness. They maintain that the enactment of sweeping laws such as the USA Patriot Act, passed by Congress in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, have emboldened those who would use the powers of the state to restrict civil liberties as a tool of social control.

In effect, victims say, a secret parallel system of transaction processing has been established for persons targeted by government agencies. Victims allege that the goal is to destroy their capacity to earn a living and to support themselves and their families. They maintain that these "mechanics of personal destruction" closely resemble the tactics employed by pre-war Nazi Germany in its campaign against the Jews and other targeted groups, such as those deemed to be political "dissenters."

Victims charge that these programs also are designed to degrade their physical health, with health care professionals sometimes pressured to cooperate. Citizen vigilantes affiliated with government-funded community policing and "watch" groups are employed to harass and intimidate those targeted by these government programs, victims charge. These civilian vigilantes are believed to be equipped with high-tech instruments such as radiation-emitting"directed energy" weapons capable of causing serious adverse health effects -- what some describe as a "slow genocide."

Officials in the private sector are believed to have knowledge of some of these programs, since their cooperation is key to the functioning of the system. Victims charge that the government is using national security and the "war on terror" as a pretext to secure the cooperation of corporations and businesses. But they say it's also possible that the civilian overseers of these agencies, as well as civilian operatives, have been kept in the dark about the most nefarious aspects of these programs.

It's feared that the government takeover of more than half of the nation's mortgage market, and government bailouts and supervision of failed and financially troubled investment houses and insurers such as Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Bros. and AIG could help effectuate these programs.

Those who say they have been victimized by these programs are calling upon Congress to immediately convene hearings on unconstitutional, extra-legal abuses of power carried out under the direction of government agencies -- what they see as an unraveling of the American constitutional democracy and a descent into a corporate-fascist police state.

I'm not saying I would vote for an outright marxist... All I'm saying is that is name is used to invoke horror on the part of voters, and he is not the evil man many would make him out to be. His theories were taken and twisted and used to serve many ends, but at heart his ideas are sound and logical.

Karl Marx (1818-1883) The name Karl Marx instantly brings to mind different ideas. We all associate him with communism, so he's something of a misunderstood figure in the U.S. Many people instantly disagree with any Marxist idea, often without even knowing why. The truth is: Marx was a brilliant economist, and even if you disagree with his political or economic ideas, it's still a good thing to understand them. Marx had a great impact on the events of the twentieth century, and will continue to have a lasting impact on world thought. One more note: don't associate Marx with the Soviet Union! Marx was a German, not a Russian, and was completely separate from the events in Russia (which occurred after he died). The Soviet Union was formed by people who believed Marx's ideas but, for the most part, used them to achieve their own personal goals

I used to like and respect McCain, he sold his soul to the far right and advocates what he once stood against.... in my book he is ingenuine and I cannot trust what comes out of his mouth. Obama/Biden 08

Elizabeth Drew - When John McCain was "reaching across the aisle" in a bipartisan effort of reconciliation", you were with him. When he shunned Conservative principals, ignored his parties wishes, he was a Maverick! A man to be admired and respected. When you could use this environment to further feather your Liberal ideals, "he was the man". But, now we are engaged in a great civil war, judging whether this nation or any other nation can become Socialist and still survive. This Maverick has dared to oppose the most holiest of Liberals. How dare he, how dare he. This is why John has lost you - because he is not willing to go completely bonkers and follow you skipping down the Marxist path. Your absence will NOT be missed.

You support a man who has NUMEROUS associations with anti-Americans, makes "secret deals" with foreign entities, has declared support and admiration for Marxists and radicals, has demonstrated the ability and willingness to do or say ANYTHING to get what he wants, and ignored those of us in Illinois who needed his help?

Secret deals with foreign entities are hardly a democratic invention. Do i need to bring up the Iran Contra affair? or maybe our interventions in multiple foreign governments like Saudi Arabia, Columbia, Chile, Panama... and the list goes on.

Generally speaking Liberals are trying to hold the country to a higher standard and this is portrayed for political purposes as anti-american. I for one think we can do better than being the world's bully and self proclaimed police force. I just wish more people would see the light.

He may admire Marx, there are many things to admire (and not admire) but at least Obama didn't name a radical as his VP. Marx and Smith (hopefully you know which Smith I am referring to) are probably the 2 most important economists of our time. I would hope any presidential candidate is well versed on their ideas.

First, the Obama campaign spends weeks willfully misunderstanding and misrepresenting John McCain's "100 years in Iraq" remark. We all know it was dishonest. But Obama's has such a fresh face, so he gets a pass.

John McCain tried to elevate the campaign by having town hall-style discussions with Barack Obama. Didn't happen, because Obama wanted to run a campaign based on pure charisma and pageantry. The press eats it up, Riefenstahl-style.

John McCain agreed to stay within the post-Watergate federal fund raising rules. Barack Obama also agreed, for a while, until he decided he could raise more on his own, so he broke his pledge. The press gives the obligatory one day of bad press to Obama, then it's back to the love fest.

Then, most egregiously, Barack Obama plays the race card against McCain and his opponents, saying that they'll attack him because he doesn't look like those presidents on the dollar bills.

So Elizabeth, at least, please save some crocodile tears for Barack Obama.

No it means she's going to vote for the smarter man who's best fit for the job of President of the United States! OBAMA '08 Do the math: 8 more years of failed foreign policy + ignorence on economic issues + computer illiteracy + token VP + about to croke any day now + avoiding press interviews + POW Flash Backs + outright liar = John McSame remainder Sara "I can see Russia from Alaska" Palin

No it means she's going to vote for the smarter man who's best fit for the job of President of the United States! OBAMA '08 Do the math: 8 more years of failed foreign policy + ignorence on economic issues + computer illiteracy + token VP + about to croke any day now + avoiding press interviews + POW Flash Backs + outright liar = John McSame remainder Sara "I can see Russia from Alaska" Palin

Another 'Kleinish' revelation expressing the utter disappointment from the McCain of 2000 to the McCain of today. The writer expresses her true admiration of the man, his honor his nobility. But somethings happened...he may win. It's always easier to admire the virtue in a candidate whose basic views you do not share as long as he goes down in noble defeat to the candidate whose views you share. Certainly it cannot the honor and nobility displayed by Mr. Obama. His nasty friends and methods coming up in the Chicago political machine. His position against offering assistance to infants born alive after botched abortions or the basic view that Americans and America are the root of most of the world's problems. Elizabeth, are these things noble? No. Maybe your change in position is more about your politics and less about all of the 'snow' you've blown at the readers.

Lots of liberals where big fans of John McCain until the found out he really wanted to be the president and just might pull it off. He was supposed to have Joe Liberman as his running mate and act like a couple of cute old guys who put up ran a token campaign to the invincible Barak Obama.